Capt. Mark Welsh

The leadership of Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC Crane) will be formally and traditionally transferred during a Change of Command Ceremony on Friday.

The ceremony will be held on the front lawn of NSWC Crane's Building 1 at 9 a.m.

Captain Charles S. LaSota, USN, will accept leadership of NSWC Crane Command from Captain Mark S. Welsh, USN, who is transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to assume duty as a professor.

Rear Admiral Archer M. Macy, Jr., Commander, Naval Surface Warfare Center is the keynote speaker for the formal change in Navy Leadership. Congressman Brad Ellsworth, Representative from Indiana's 8th District, will also address the audience.

Captain LaSota comes to Crane from Silverdale, WA where he served as the Commanding Officer of the Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific (SWFPAC). He had oversight of a diverse team of 1,600 military, federal civilian employees, and contractors who were responsible for the Strategic Weapons Systems (SWS) support for all Pacific Fleet TRIDENT submarines as well as all aspects of Nuclear Weapons Security (NWS) at Naval Base Kitsap.

NSWC Crane is the largest tenant mission command located aboard Naval Support Activity Crane with approximately 2,600 civilian and 1,500 contractor employees.